San Diego International Film Festival Reveals 2022 Lineup, Colson Baker to Receive Spotlight Award (EXCLUSIVE)
The San Diego International Film Festival has announced its 2022 lineup, featuring the return of Opening Night Film Premiere & Reception, the Night of the Stars Tribute and Culinary Cinema, Variety has learned exclusively.
In its 21st year, SDIFF received more than 3,000 film submissions from 82 countries. The lineup consists of 115 films total, including 27 Narrative Competition films, 11 Documentary Competition films and 77 shorts.
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SDIFF’s Gala Features screenings this year include the San Diego premieres of “Taurus,” “Empire of Light” and “The Lost King.” James Gray’s “Armageddon Time” leads the pack of award season studio films at this year’s film fest, which is featured in SDIFF’s Opening Night Film lineup alongside “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “Close,” “Empire of Light” and “Good Night Oppy.”
Colson Baker, known professionally as Machine Gun Kelly, will also receive the annual Spotlight Award following the screening of his newest drama film “Taurus” on Oct. 23. Baker made his acting debut in Cameron Crowe’s “Roadies.” His other film credits include “Bird Box,” “Big Time Adolescence,” Judd Apatow’s “The King of Staten Island,” “Nerve” and “Beyond the Lights.”
Similar to previous years, SDIFF will be focusing on several social initiatives, including environmental sustainability, social inequities and LGBTQAI+ rights.
“We have also broadened the scope of our examination of the issue of human trafficking,” Tonya Mantooth, CEO and artistic director of SDIFF, said in a statement. “We as a festival and community have sought to shine a light on the issue of human trafficking for many years through our curation of films that highlight this heartbreaking topic. This year we continue the conversation with new films that examine stories of human trafficking.”
The 21st annual San Diego International Film Festival will run from Oct. 19 to 23.
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